1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to embedded computer systems, and more particularly to a system and method for configuring embedded systems using removable storage.
2. Background Information
Embedded systems range from low-end systems such as networked sensors and smart cards to high-end systems such as routers, storage servers and web servers. One of the most cumbersome challenges of embedded device deployment is the initial and subsequent configuration.
Mechanisms exist in the world for active configuration of devices by connecting a local PC or PDA to a port and entering a series of special commands or doing the same over a network connection. Unfortunately, when a device needs to be replaced or initially deployed into a network environment, it cannot be just taken out of the box and deployed. Although DHCP and other mechanisms provide a vehicle to get a network address, oftentimes there is no way to find the device and its address without manual intervention. To counter this problem, some devices are preprogrammed with a “phone home” address to query for instructions on power up. However, this still doesn't solve the identification problem.
For example, a factory has a network of industrial 10 devices for a production line. Each device is on a network. The devices are for the most part duplicates in hardware, but are involved in different control functions. During the late shift, one of the devices fails and needs to be replaced. The ideal replacement model would be for the maintenance department to grab a new device, plug it in, and let it configure itself. The problem is that unless the device location and ID is programmed into the device ahead of time, this is not possible.
One could get over this problem by pre-configuring a spare device at each location, but this tends to drive up inventory and cost. If, however, the maintenance person can pull a spare, plug it in, and configure it, then the network could do the rest.
What is needed is a system and method of configuring an embedded device which addresses these problems and other problems which will become evident in the detailed discussion below.